


Searching For You

by orphan_account



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M, Minor Character Death, Searching for you, Zombie AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-07
Updated: 2013-07-26
Packaged: 2017-12-17 23:51:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/873329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joel and Ray were happy together until the apocalypse rolls around the corner, and separates them. They search for each other, hoping that sooner or later, they will find each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Joel's Flashback

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya guys, I'm not too good at multi-chapter fics, so bare with me. I'll try to update this EVERY FRIDAY. Enjoy! C;

  For a zombie apocalypse, everything was going pretty great. Joel and Ray had plenty of supplies, they had a nice place to stay, their shelter was right next to an ammunition shop, a grocery store was right down the street, and what made everything better was that Ray was comfortable, and happy. Joel would do anything, and he literally meant anything to make Ray happy. He deserved it.  


  Joel yawned softly, rolling off the mattress he had laid out on the floor a couple of days ago. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before turning to face Ray. He was still sound asleep, the blanket resting right below his chin. Not wanting to wake him up, Joel carefully picked himself up off the mattress, and slowly made his way into the small kitchen.  
They had been in this home for about 2 days now. It wasn't much, 2 bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a decent sized living room, along with a tiny bathroom. They planned on moving houses in a couple of days, so Joel stocked up on supplies. In all honesty, Joel did not want to move at all. He tried to argue about it, but Ray had shut him up with the coldest stare Joel had ever recieved.  
 _" You know why we have to move. I don't want to move either, but tough shit, we got to. These zombies are gonna find us, and we'll be dead meat before we can even get our unlucky asses out the door "_  
Joel understood. So he didn't bother bringing up the topic again.  
Since Ray was asleep, Joel decided to remember the past. When everything was simple, life was sweet, and he had not a care in the world. Back when him and Ray were just barely in the first months of their relationship. Those were the best days. The man plopped down onto one of the kitchen chairs, closing his dark colored eyes as he reveled in the days before all of this mess.  
 _" You know I love you, right? " Joel mumbled, pressing his forehead against Ray's. The younger man smiled, nodding softly. Ray was still a little shy, but they had only been going out for a few months. It was perfectly understandable. The older man softly kissed his boyfriends' lips gently embracing him as Ray and him lay in bed, just simply enjoying each other_  
 _Joel's phone began to ring, causing him to groan, and roll around, grabbing his phone and peering at it._  
Lindsay.  
 _Eh... Joel thought to himself, declining the call. Girl can wait.  
 _Joel smiled, setting his phone back onto the nightstand, quickly shoving himself under the covers, wrapping his arms around Ray.__  
 _That is, until his phone began to ring again._  
 _" Just answer it! " Ray chuckled, as Joel retrieved his phone, accepting the call._  
 _" The hell do you want, I'm busy " Joel muttered, his voice tired, and grumpy._  
 _" J-Joel! You gotta help us! T-There's these things at the office... T-They're people... But they don't look like people... Oh my god, Michael thinks they're z-z....z-zom..."_  
 _" What? They're what?! Spit it out! " Joel said,Ray sitting up in worry._  
 _" Zombies!! " Lindsay shouted, causing Joel to chuckle. She has GOT to be kidding._  
 _" Alright Lindsay, quit fucking with me, It's my day off " Joel laughed softly, Lindsay going quiet._  
 _" I'm not fucking kidding, you stupid asshole! " She shrieked. Joel sighed, looking at Ray who had the most confused look ever. He chuckled._  
 _" Alright, whatever. I'll be there in a sec... " Joel hung up, despite Lindsay trying to scream somthing at him._  
 _" Sounded like Lindsay. What did she want? " Ray asked, scooting over to be at Joel's side. Joel rubbed his eyes._  
 _" Apparently there are 'zombies' at the office. Lindsay wants me to go over there... " Joel laughed, as Ray smiled lightly._  
 _" They're probably just gonna fuck with you " Ray said, Joel shrugging his shoulders._  
 _" I don't know, she sounded pretty serious. I guess I'll go check it out. But seriously. Zombies of all things? " Joel said, getting up and wobbling over to his dresser. He pulled a simple black tee over his head, before jumping into gray shorts. Being too lazy to get some socks out of their drawer, Joel simple slipped on some sandals, and turned to Ray._  
 _" I won't be gone long-"_  
 _" I'm not coming? "_  
 _" Nah. There's no point. Like you said, they're probably just fucking with me... " Joel sighed, placing a small kiss on Ray's forehead, " I'll be back before you know it."_  
 _\---_  
 _Once Joel had arrived at the office, nothing seemed out of place. Nothing was broken, all of the cars were neatly parked, everything was normal._  
 _After exiting his car, Joel shoved his keys into his pocket, and began to slowly make his way towards the suspiciously quiet building. He slowly pushed the door open, looking around before completely walking into the building._  
 _" Hello? Lindsay? Michael? Barbs? I'm here guys. You complained about a zombie problem? " Joel joked, but the room was deathly silent. He gulped, venturing farther into the building that he had grown so accustomed to._  
 _" Alright, haha, jokes over. Come on out guys. I'm serious... " Joel chuckled nervously, suddenly realizing that maybe Lindsay wasn't all that crazy, and was actually being serious when she called._  
 _" Guys seriously, fucking quit it, it's not funny anymore... I swear to fucking God, if you guys pull some shit on me, I will shit on ALL of you guys' graves, so help m- " Right as Joel arrived at the Achievement Hunter office, he was instantly pulled into it, a rather loud, and girly scream erupting from his throat._  
 _" Shut Up! Shut. The. Fuck. Up... " Michael hissed into his ear, pushing him away towards the group of terrified employee's._  
 _" Wow. You guys are doing a damn good job at this " Joel laughed, immediately being gripped tight by Michael._  
 _" Shut the fuck up, or I swear to god I will let those mother fuckers outside eat your god damn face off " He whispered harshly, Joel blinking in confusion._  
 _They couldn't be serious, Zombies were myths. Legends. Folktales. To make it easier, NOT REAL. Right? He hoped so._  
 _Just because Michael could be really fucking frightening when he was angry, Joel quickly shut his trap, and pulled his phone out. He instantly texted Ray, telling him that Lindsay was right, and that he was trapped with a bunch of other fucked people, like him. Ray immediately replied back, telling Joel that he would come and get him._  
 _No. Joel wanted Ray to be completely safe, and right now where Joel was, that was the complete opposite._  
 _' No. Stay home until I get there. I'm sure we'll find a way to get out of here... ' Joel quickly sent the text, not bothering to see what Ray had sent back._  
 _" We got to get out of here. We can't just stay in this place until the 'zombies' or whatever magically dissappear... " Joel suggested, Gus quickly agreeing with him._  
 _" He's right. We have family to get to "_  
 _" And how do you suppose we do that when there are about 8 fucking zombies right outside the god damn door! If you really want to, go the fuck ahead " Michael said, moving away from the door. Everyone exchanged worried looks, as Joel fought with himself in his own head. He needed to get to Ray. He couldn't be alone right now, not with all of this shit happening. But, to be honest, he was actually too scared to go out. Who in their right mind would go out when there were zombies right outside the door? No one. No one, but Joel._  
 _" Okay... I'll go... " Joel said, Michael giving him a surprised/angry look._  
 _" You're basically committing suicide "_  
 _" I have to get to Ray. I don't care what happens. I would rather die trying to get to him, than die knowing that I did nothing to try and save him... " Joel said, receiving a few 'aww's'. Michael looked at him for a few moments, his expression softening._  
 _" Okay. Good luck out there Joel. Tell Ray I said that maybe after we sort this shit out, we can maybe... meet up you know? Join forces? " Michael smiled, giving Joel a nice, big embrace._  
 _" Of course. Good luck everybody, it was a pleasure working with you guys " It was painful to say goodbye to the people he had knew for so long. It felt like his heart was deflating. He had to let some of his best friends go, knowing that some of them could possibly get killed._  
 _" Take care of yourselves... Love you guys.... " And with that, Joel quietly pushed the door open, and walked out of the office._


	2. Old Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updating this every FRIDAY! C;

" Joel, are you alright? " Ray asked, setting his hand on Joel's shoulder. The older man jumped, turning to face his boyfriend, giving him a light smile.  
" Just... remembering the last time I saw our co-workers... " Joel replied, sighing softly. He would give anything to go back and say goodbye to each and every one of them. Actually no- scratch that he wouldn't give anything. Ray was out of the picture, and everyone knew that. And by everyone he meant every zombie he had ever killed. Which was probably just like... 10.  
Ray sighed softly, walking around the chair, sitting down onto Joel's lap.  
" I know you miss them, Joel... But you know that if we could, We would definitely try and look for them. But with all these zombie fuckers walking around, Michael and everybody else could be in hiding. We would have no way of knowing where they were... " Ray said, running his fingers through Joel's hair. The older man smiled, leaning into Ray's hands. He loved it when Ray did this. It always calmed him down...  
" We can call them... " Joel mumbled, wrapping his arms around Ray's waist so his head was resting right underneath Ray's chin. The younger of the two was quiet, Joel looking up at him curiously.  
" Maybe... " Ray sighed, shrugging his shoulders and removing himself away from Joel. The last time Joel and Ray had decided to call someone, it was Miles. They were so exctied to actually hear his voice, but shit had hit the fan once he had picked up. He sounded like he was in danger. Serious danger. Ray could hear the wind rushing past the phone, telling him that Miles was probably running. From what? Zombies. Probably.  
Joel had desperetaly tried to keep Miles calm, but he failed. Miles was freaking out, trying to convince Joel and Ray to come out of hiding and save him. They were near him, but there was absolutely no way to save the poor bastard. He was completely surounded by zombies, and at that time, Joel and Ray didn't even have enough supplies to save themselves. Joel politely denied Miles' request, causing the man on the other line to go berserk.  
 _"Are you fucking serious? Joel come on, we've know each other for years and you do this to me?! "_ Miles had screamed at them through the phone, Joel instantly feeling guilty.  
" Miles... I'm-I'm really sorry, I- "  
Miles screamed loudly, causing Ray to wince. He hadn't noticed the warm tears strolling down his face. He knew this guy. He worked with this guy, and now, he was dying, and Ray couldn't do shit about it. The phone dropped out of Miles' hand, leaving Ray and Joel to listen to him get eaten alive by zombies.  
After a few moments, Miles' screaming died down, and the only thing Ray and Joel could hear was the disgusting sound of the zombies tearing into Miles' dead body.  
Ray cried everyday for a week after that.  
They had agreed to never call anybody else. They were even lucky to have electricity still in their area, so they took advantage of that. They charged their phones constantly, barely touched them to be honest. They just sat in the right corner of the kitchen, waiting for someone to use them. Ray didn't like to talk about many things. Hell, he didn't like to talk about anything lately. Everytime Joel would try and tell some funny story he remembered, Ray would glare at him as if Joel had just roughly kicked his dog.  
Being a nice boyfriend, Joel agreed to never bring up anything involving the men and women he used to work with, ever.  
It was hard though. Joel didn't have anything to do, so the only thing he could do was- you guessed it- remember things. It's all he ever did unless him and Ray decided to sleep in that day.  
Joel picked himself up off the chair, watching as Ray walked around the kitchen.  
" So what? Anything to do today? " Joel asked, hopping up onto the dirty, marbel counters.  
" More food " Ray replied glumly, his eyes growing dark and solemn. Joel sighed, putting a hand on his boyfriends' shoulder.  
" You alright? " He asked, Ray nodding quickly. Joel looked at him, before giving him a nod in return.  
" Okay. I won't be long... " Joel had volunteered to always go for the groceries. By himself. Ray protested almost 5 times every week, but Joel thought of it as a good idea. If Joel died, Ray would be able to live, and move on. He would have more stuff to himself, and he would be fine.  
Ray didn't like to talk about that, either.  
" Can I go with you this time? " Ray asked, while Joel grabbed his backpack up and off the couch.  
" We've talked about this. You know why you can't come " Joel groaned, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. Ray glared at him, thinking up a couple of reasons why he should be able to come. Joel chuckled when Ray sighed angrily, crossing his arms.  
" But I'm still not safe here! You never know... Some of those thugs can come by here and you know- "  
" Don't talk like that... It can really happen "  
" Exactly! That's why I should come with you " Ray said, smiling triumphantly. Joel started at him for a moment, contemplating the sort of situations they could run into. 1. They get attacked, and neither of them survive. 2. Thugs are bitches, and could steal all their shit. 3. Ray wasn't exactly good at shooting a gun, so he wasn't much of a help. And finally, 4. Ray would probably shit his pants if a zombie touched, or got 10 ft from him.  
But just because he was the nicest, sweetest, attractive, loving boyfriend of all time, he agreed.  
" Fiiiiine... " Joel groaned, Ray quickly running to get his bag. Joel sighed, leaning up against the table. He was really terrified that something bad was going to happen to the only person he had left in his life. He didn't know what he would do if he lost Ray. He knew he couldn't go on without him...  
" Okay let's go " Ray said, swinging around a medium sized metal bat.  
" The grocery store is right down the street... " Ray blinked, looking down at his weapon before raise an eyebrow at Joel, " So? "  
The older man chuckled, shrugging his shoulders, " Nevermind. "  
\-----

Once the two arrived at the grocery store, Joel made sure to check every nook and cranny of the store to find anything that could possibly harm Ray. Sure, Ray complained about being a 'grown-ass man' and being able to take care of himself, but Joel didn't care. He just wanted to make sure he was safe.  
" Joooooeeel! " Ray whined, trying to shove Joel out from in front of him, " I wanna see too, you asshole! " Joel grinned, stoping to let Ray take the lead, " Okay, go ahead. "  
The younger man glared at him before pushing past him. He made small baby steps at first, holding his bat in a defensive way, but then he eventually calmed down and began to walk normally. Joel smirked, gently shoving Ray forward causing him to screech and immediately back up.  
" H-Hello? " A familliar voice echoed.  
Ray stopped right in his tracks, instantly jumping into Joel's arms once he heard the voice.  
" G-Gav? " Ray asked, as Joel held onto Ray tightly. They rounded the corner, tears coming to Ray's eyes as he faced his old friend. Gavin was somewhat coated in blood, his face and clothes also covered in dirt. Ray scrambled off of Joel, quickly running to Gavin and giving him the biggest bear hug.  
" Gavin, oh my god! It's... It's... " Ray sniffled, digging his nails into Gavin's shirt, " It's really fucking awesome to see you again. " Gavin smiled letting Ray go.  
" It's nice too see you too, lad... " Gavin said, " And you too, Joel. "  
" How's the apocalypse for ya'? " Joel joked, laughing softly as Ray nudged his ribs and Gavin smirked.  
" Top, " He replied simply, shrugging his shoulders.  
" Have you seen anyone else, like... I don't know, Geoff? Ryan? " Ray asked frantically, Gavin's expression sobering.  
" I wish I have... " Gavin mumbled, turning his gaze to the floor, " I haven't seen anyone else in months. " Ray frowned, putting a hand on Gavin's shoulder.  
" Have you? " Gavin asked, Joel looking to Ray. He obviously wasn't going to say anything about Miles, so Joel took the matter into his own hands  
" We... We uh... talked to Miles a few days ago... Thankfully our phones are still working and well... we got ahold of him "  
" That's great! What did he say? " Gavin asked, Ray lowering his head. Gavin could see the sadness in Joel's eyes, but he didn't want to believe anything just yet.  
" Well... Uh- "  
" He's dead. He died while we were talking to him on the phone " Ray blurted out, knowing Joel would try and make a shitty joke out of his death. Ray didn't want that, so he just kind of... spoke out. Gavin blinked, looking to Joel for confirmation. The oldest man quickly nodded, an awkward silence falling around the three.  
" Oh " Was all that Gavin said.  
Ray shuffled his feet, looking up at Joel, " Well... If you want, you can come with us to where we're staying after we're done gathering some stuff we need... " Gavin smiled, nodding his head.  
" I'd love to " 


	3. Joel's Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating every Friday! Enjoy!<3

Joel didn't really mind Gavin's company. He talked a shit ton, yeah, but he hadn't seen another human in months. It was perfectly acceptable. Joel sighed, shoving multiple cans of fruit into his backpack. Ray and Gavin had decided to go off into another section of the store, (causing Joel to have a panic attack) while Joel grabbed some non-perishables. He agreed, only because he sort-of trusted Gavin.  
In the early months of the fucking apocalypse, everyone went absolutely nuts. The first thing they went for was either Lowes, or Walmart. Joel and Ray decided to move away from the heavily populated areas, and into the more rural places. It was basically the same, but... the stores weren't completely raided yet. Ray wanted to go for all the meat at first (Joel had slammed his head onto the nearest table when he said that) hoping that maybe the stoves would still work for a couple of more days. He was wrong. The stoves had shut down the next day, making Ray feel pretty stupid. After learning that lesson, they stuck to what they knew from then on.  
The first thing Joel taught Ray was how to hot wire a car. He demonstrated it on several vehicles, some of them working, and some of them not. Ray didn't give a shit about any of that. He just wanted to watch Joel do it. It was a pretty fucking sexy procedure, the way Joel would lean his body under the seat, and the way his ass would look so nice in his jeans when he bent down to configure the wires.  
" Alright... You try " Joel said, wiping a few beads of sweat off of his forehead. Ray chuckled nervously, edging his way to the car, and getting down onto his knees. He scratched his head, glancing at Joel who was giving him a confused look.   
" Well... You get these uh... wires... " Ray mumbled, grabbing a white colored wire, and a red one. He sighed heavily, touching them together, and squealing when they made a huge spark.  
" What the fuck, Ray!? What the hell were you doing when I was showing you?! " Joel exclaimed, while Ray shrugged.  
" I was watching... "   
" Obviously not! " Joel said, Ray smirking as his boyfriend shoved him out of the way. Joel went through the whole entire process again. Of course Ray wasn't paying attention. Well... he was paying attention to the way Joel's thighs would tense up, and his shirt would hike up so his lower back would be exposed. Ray could stare at that ass ALL day.  
" Alright... Go ahead " Joel said, Ray shrugging his shoulders.  
" If you know how to do it, why should I have to know how to do it? " Ray asked, Joel sighing. He didn't say anything, so Ray just got back down onto his knees, and began to fuck around with different wires. After a few moments of complete, and utter confusion, Ray gave up, and sat back.  
" I don't know what to do " Ray confessed, giving Joel a tiny smile.  
" What the hell where you doing?! " Joel hissed.   
" I was looking at you... And your ass " Ray laughed, Joel's cheeks growing pink.  
" It's the fucking apocalypse and you take time to look at my ass now? " Joel sighed,rubbing his forehead. But to be honest, Joel didn't mind at all.  
After Joel's backpack was completely filled, He went around the store looking for Ray and Gavin. It wasn't a huge store like Walmart or anything, but it was possible to get lost. Joel tried to remain calm, straining his ears so he could hear the faintest sound of Ray and Gavin talking to each other. But sadly, he couldn't hear shit. The man was 41 years old, he was getting to old for this shit.  
" Gavin? Ray? " Joel called out, biting his nails as he wandered around the store, " Come on you fucks, this isn't funny. "  
The floorboards creaked below Joel's feet, and the store was eerily quiet. Sighing softly, Joel hastily made his way around several aisles, just wanting to get to his boyfriend and friend. Joel was about to to give up and go home until he heard faint footsteps shuffling around a couple of aisles over. Or well... he thought it was a couple of aisles over.  
" Come on guys, I'm serious. You guys are gonna give me a heart attack " Joel muttered, slowly edging his way towards the aisle he heard the footsteps come from. He sighed loudly for what seemed the millionth time as he rounded the corner and found nothing.  
He was going crazy.  
Well maybe they'll just go- Joel gasped loudly as he felt a hand grab his collar and pull him back. The man quickly whipped around, screeching as he became face to face to a rotting woman. She gurgled, spitting black ooze into his face, while Joel tried to scramble away from her. He didn't bring any weapons like Ray did, so he had no way of defending himself.   
" RAY!!! GAVIN!! " Joel screeched as he tried to wrestle the zombie to the floor. The woman screamed at him, trying to gnaw at his peachy skin. Joel kicked her rib cage, an unsettling 'crack' erupting from her body. She let out a light shriek, Joel scrambling up off the floor. He heard the front door of the store slam open, and quickened footsteps coming his way. Gavin reached out to Joel, helping the older man up off the floor as Ray swung his bat at the woman. The bat connected to the woman's chin, her neck snapping and twisting around so she wasn't facing Ray anymore. She fell to the floor, Ray giving her one more good hit to the head to make her stop fidgeting around.  
Ray panted heavily as he looked over at his boyfriend who was trying to wipe the ooze off of his face. He dropped his bat, quickly jumping into Joel's arms, digging his nails into Joel's back. He sniffled, shoving his face into Joel's chest.  
" Are you alright, Joel? " Gavin asked, examining his friend.  
" Yeah, totally fine. A fuckin' zombie just tried to eat my mother fucking face, but no, I'm alright " Joel hissed, running his hands along Ray's back. Ray didn't do too good with killing zombies. He always tried to avoid killing the zombies, but sometimes he just couldn't. Every time he killed one, he'd cry because, " There used to be a person in there, and I just killed them. "  
No matter how many times Joel tried to explain to Ray that they weren't who they used to be, Ray would tell him to shut the fuck up, and go away. Joel looked down at his boyfriend who was sobbing into his shirt, just rubbing his back.  
" Where the hell were you guys? " Joel said to Gavin. The Brit sighed, scratching his head, " Outside waiting for you. We told you, but I guess you didn't hear us. " Joel nodded, moving Ray's hair out of his face. Since they didn't have any scissors or anything, Ray's hair was starting to get pretty long now. It was nice and soft, Joel touching it all the time. The only time he ran his hands through Ray's hair was when he was upset. Which was often.  
" Shh, don't worry Ray, you're alright " Joel cooed, trying to get his boyfriend to look up at him. The youngest of the three sniffled, before taking off his glasses and looking up at Joel.  
" You alright? " Joel said, running his thumbs against Ray's soft cheeks. He nodded, wiping his eyes and putting his glasses back on. He didn't want to tell Joel the truth. The truth was the he was tired. He didn't want to do this anymore. He just wanted to die. But if he told Joel that, he'd definitely get a lecture, and a really touchy Joel. Looking around the area where Joel was attacked, Ray went over to Joel's backpack and picked it up, tossing it to his boyfriend.  
" Let's just go home. I-I'm tired... " Ray said, Joel wrapping an arm around his waist. He nodded, Gavin, Joel, and Ray exiting the store and walking down the sidewalk to receive a well deserved nap.


	4. Mugged

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dont like this chapter, but oh well

The gang would be lying if they said they had gotten the sleep they wanted. Ray was too afraid to go to sleep, Joel was trying to calm him the fuck down, while Gavin was sitting in the kitchen eating a bag of Doritos he had managed to grab. 

" Joel what if there are more zombies? There usually aren’t any in this area! " Ray exclaimed, Joel frowning at him. Ray shoved his face into his hands, Joel running his hands up and down Ray’s back in an attempt to calm him down.

" I assure you that there are NO zombies, you understand? " Joel grumbled, Ray immediately glaring at him. And as if on cue, a rather loud, disturbing shriek was heard from outside Ray and Joel’s bedroom window. Good thing they had decided to board them up.

" Fuckin’ Christ! " Gavin screamed from the kitchen. Ray flung himself off the bed, Joel sighing and following him out the door and into the kitchen where Gavin had abandoned his chips, and was pushing himself against the door.

" There’s too many of them, we have to get out of here! " Gavin exclaimed, Joel trying his best to shove a rather expensive looking China Cupboard in front of the door. Ray instantly shot upstairs, shoving everything he could into his own backpack, and then proceeding to fill up Joel’s backpack. He knew it was too good to be true. The neighborhood was too quiet for too long, and Ray knew it was eventually going to go to shit.

With shaking hands, Ray scuttled around the house, searching for anything he might of missed. Glancing around the room, Ray’s heart dropped when he saw a framed picture on the floor, shattered. Someone must of knocked it down while they were running. The picture was an old one of Ray and Joel, Geoff in the backround a long with Jack and Burnie. They had barely came out about their relationship, and everyone had gone fucking nuts, and threw a whole party that lasted maybe about and hour. Joel had his cheek pressed up against Ray’s, his hand cupping the younger mans neck. Ray picked up the picture, shaking it to remove the tiny glass particles. He sighed, removing the picture out of the frame, folding it, and tucking it away into his pocket.

He vowed to never lose it.

Ray jumped as Joel clutched his arm, dragging him up the stairs, and into their bathroom, Gavin following close behind. 

" What are we gonna do, we can’t just stay here! They’re gonna find a way in here… " Ray said as Gavin shut the restroom door. Joel moved towards the only window in the restroom, opening it hastily, grabbing Ray’s arm, attempting to shove him through the tiny window.

" What are you doing?! " Ray yelped, Joel trying his best to get his boyfriend out of the window, but Ray wasn’t taking his shit.

" Please don’t make this harder than it already is " Joel sighed, Ray yanking his arm away from Joel’s tight grip.

" I’m not leaving without you, Joel " Ray said, looking at Gavin who had the most terrified look on his face. He could hear the stomping of the zombies downstairs. They had found a way in, telling Gavin and the two other men that they did not have a lot of time to be fucking discussing their feelings.

" We don’t have much time- "

" Exactly, that’s why you should quit fucking arguing with me, and hurry the hell up… " Ray said, grabbing his boyfriend’s arm, and guiding him to the window. 

" Ray, you know I can’t fit through that window, I just can’t, accept that. Gavin can’t either, you’re the only one who can, and I just want you to be safe, so please, I’ll find another way out, I promise! " Joel smiled, looking over to Gavin who nodded in agreement.

Ray was an emotional wreck once Joel and Gavin had convinced him to jump out the window. He was crying and stuttering, Joel guiding him the whole entire way. They had agreed to meet down the road into the downtown area, but Ray had to promise he would run once he hit the floor. He would not wait, he would not try to fight off the zombies, he would run and run until his legs gave out. Joel and Gavin would meet him later, but since Ray had packed their phones and chargers, Joel promised to call him.

Ray hiccuped as he stepped cautiously up onto the toilet, and climbing onto the windowsill. It was a narrow window, almost to narrow to the point where Joel knew he could not fit his lower half into the window. But since Ray was a scrawny little shit, he managed to shoved his body through the window, landing onto the dead bushes that grew around the house. Ray picked himself up, looking up at his boyfriend who was looking down at him.

" Run! " Joel screamed, Ray turning and shooting off as fast as he could. He had his backpack tightly secured around his back, anything and everything he needed zipped up in it. Tears welled up in his eyes blurring his vision as he continued to run, even though his legs screamed at him to stop.

You’re doing this for Gavin and Joel, you can’t stop now… Ray told himself as he glanced behind him. The house was gone. He shoved the tears off of his face, and continued to run.

" Hurry the fuck up Gavin! " Joel yelled, shoving his belongings out of his bedroom window. They had managed to push the wooden boards off of the window sill successfully but they still had to get down, and it was quite a drop. Even though there were a few zombies hanging out below the window they were about to jump out of, there was no other way, unless they wanted to fight through the giant mob downstairs. Gavin sighed heavily as he finished pushing the dark brown colored dresser in front of the door.

Joel wasn’t a religious man, but he quickly said a prayer to anything that was out there, and roughly shoved himself out the window. Making sure to bend his knees, the man landed safely on the ground next to his bag, grabbing one of his pistols and making sure he headshotted every single zombie that he could see.

Gavin gulped, looking down at Joel who was looking up at him.

" Don’t be a fucking pussy " Joel called out, Gavin glaring at him. The man shoved his own bag out the window, before putting one leg out of the window. There was a loud bang on the door, making Gavin shove himself fully out of the window. The Brit screamed, Joel sighing as he noticed the poor bastard was to fall flat on his face.

" I got you! Shut the hell up! " Joel yelled, lifting his arms as Gavin plummeted straight towards him. But Joel really wasn’t too sure. The sun was in his eyes, and he was really fucking paranoid. Gavin groaned loudly as he fell onto his friend, sending Joel onto his back.

" Thanks for catching me " Gavin muttered, Joel groaning as he rubbed the back of his throbbing head.

" Yeah no problem… " Joel sighed, shoving Gavin off of him and sitting up.

" Let’s get going. We gotta find Ray… "

——-

Ray sighed heavily as he arrived at the downtown area of New Braunfels, Texas. It was eerily quiet, a few dead corpses lying around the Main Plaza. He sighed heavily, walking through the ghost town. He hadn’t encountered any Zombies yet, which was a good, yet bad thing. He hugged his bag to his chest, quietly wandering around the city. After a few minutes, Ray looked down off a bridge, and found a rather large river. Smiling to himself, he quickly raced down a hill of dead grass, stopping at the edge of the river. He instantly dropped to his knees, cupping his hands and splashing some water into his face.

" I think if we follow the river, we’ll get there " A gruff voice echoed, sending Ray into panic mode. He scrambled over behind a large rock, grabbing a plant near him to make himself look more natural.

Ray’s heart rapidly thumped in his ears as he clutched his bag. He didn’t know if these were thugs, or just regular survivors. He didn’t know if he wanted to check.

" Anything you find, take it, it’s yours " Another voice said. Thugs. Yep. Ray sighed quietly, peeking out from behind the rock. A fairly large group of men were walking down the river bank, AK-47’s placed in each of their hands. Ray was definitely scared now.

" Search up and down this river. Someone must of left something " A really buff guys said to a smaller man. Ray looked down at his bag, sighing.

" There’s nothing here sir " A lanky man said to the buff one. He was probably their leader or something. 

" Alright well… let’s go I guess " Ray sighed happily, leaning his head against the rock. 

That is, until his phone began to ring loudly. 

His eyes snapped open, his shaking hands immediatly fumbling to open his bag.

" Do you hear that? Find it! " The large man yelled, the rest of his group scrambling to find the source of the ringing.

Ray huffed loudly, grabbing his phone and looking at the Caller ID.

Joel.

Ray quickly tapped the end button, shoving his phone down his pants. For safety measures of course…

" I found it sir! " One of the men called out, ripping the leaves away from Ray’s hiding spot. The man roughly grabbed Ray’s arm, the younger man squealing as he watched another man grab his bag. Each man pointed their guns at Ray, the Puerto Rican immediately raising his hands to surrender. 

" What are you doin’ around these places, man? " The bigger man asked, as the man behind Ray tightened his grip. 

" I-I… was just waiting for my friends… I wasn’t trespassing I-I promise! " Ray stuttered, as the men continued to go through his bag. They pulled out his canned food, a couple of small pistols and ammo, a long with a few sets of clothes. Luckily, they didn’t ask about his phone. Ray could still feel the buzzing of Joel constantly texting him. The bigger man smirked, as the other men shoved Ray’s belongings back into his bag, but they didn’t give it back.

" Stay out of out way " Ray nodded eagerly as the man holding Ray let him go. The man slung Ray’s backpack over his shoulder, and quickly left.

Now he had nothing. Nothing at all.


End file.
